Married senior government lawyer, 55, who took ‘upskirt’ pictures of woman on the Tube faces being struck off

Daren Timson-Hunt, 54, arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in September 2019 

A senior government lawyer who became one of the first in the country to be prosecuted for ‘upskirting’ on the Tube faces expulsion from the legal profession.

Daren Timson-Hunt, 55, hid his phone under his right leg to take a photo of a female passenger who was on her way to a job interview.

Timson-Hunt followed the woman after she got the Northern Line train at Embankment station, and waited at the bottom of the stairs.

The shamed barrister was spotted by a police inspector after taking his phone out of his pocket as the woman reached the top of the stairs shortly after 9.30am on June 1 last year.

When confronted Timson-Hunt said: ‘I do not know why I did it.

‘I have never done something like this before.

‘I am an idiot.’

He faces a disciplinary hearing at The Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service, which may suspend or strike him off the roll for professional misconduct.

The tribunal is currently considering whether to proceed without him after he responded to the remote-link invitation email with ‘thank you, but no thank you’.

Timson-Hunt had admitted the upskirting offence at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in September last year.

He was sentenced to 24-month community order with a 35-day program requirement, 30 days of rehabilitation activity and 60 hours unpaid work.

Timson-Hunt, of Thurrock, Essex, admitted operating equipment beneath the clothing of another person without consent under new upskirting laws in September last year 

Timson-Hunt was also placed on the sex offenders registry for five years.

His victim, who was on her way to a job interview, said in her impact statement read at the court hearing:

‘I found it very intrusive he could do this and it made me feel extremely annoyed and made me lose focus in my interview.’

She went on to say that the incident had deeply impacted her day-to-day and made her avoid public transport.

‘It has made me change my behaviour.

‘I haven’t worn a dress or skirt, considering the recent weather.

‘I fear that should I wear a dress in public transport it risks it happening again,’ she said.

‘I feel my personal space has been violated and the male should face the consequences of his actions.’

Timson-Hunt was a senior lawyer at the Department for International Trade until August last year.

Timson-Hunt followed the woman after she got the Northern Line train at Embankment station, and waited at the bottom of the stairs (file image)

He was Head of the EU Exit and Goods Legal Team and previously worked as a senior legal advisor at the DIT and in another government role for HMRC.

Timson-Hunt, of Stanford-Le-Hope, Thurrock, Essex, admitted operating equipment beneath the clothing of another person without consent, contrary to sections 67A(1) and (4) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

According to the charge he operated equipment, namely a mobile phone, ‘beneath the clothing of another person with the intention of enabling you or a third person to observe the genitals, buttocks, or underwear covering the genitals or buttocks, of the other person in circumstances where they would not otherwise be visible, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification’.

In addition to his sentence the lawyer was also ordered to sign on sex offenders’ register for five years and pay £175 in court costs and victim surcharge.

Timson-Hunt was the fourth person to be convicted under the new upskirting law.

The tribunal continues.